Misuzu Kōgaku
Misuzu Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K. (三鈴光学工業 ) Full name: advertisement in Nihon Camera June 1958, reproduced in , p.222. was a Japanese company based in Azusawa, Tokyo, in the 1950s. Its address was Tōkyō-to Itabashi-ku Azusawa 1–35 (東京都板橋区小豆沢1の35). Source: column in September 1957, reproduced in Awano, p.3 of no.38, and advertisement in June 1958, reproduced in , p.222. History The company was founded by Mr. Suzuki (鈴木正一) Hagiya, reproduced in Mabuchi. The first name can read Shōichi, Masaichi or Masakazu. at an unknown date. Misuzu Kōgaku hired Arae Taikichi (荒江泰吉), Hagiya, reproduced in Mabuchi. designer of the Altair SLR prototype announced in early 1955 by Arae Kōgaku, certainly after he abandoned that ambitious project. Before entering the company, Arae was making the Altair bright screens on his own account — these were originally designed by his friend Kurebayashi Juichi (樽林寿一). Prior to that, he worked on binoculars at Tōkyō Kōgaku. The production of the bright screens was taken over by Misuzu, under the same Altair brand name, Altair bright screens by Misuzu Kōgaku are mentioned in the column announcing the Alta in September 1957 (ライトスクリーンフレネルレンズ"アルタイル"のメーカーである、東京の三鈴光学工業), and in an advertisement in June 1958 reproduced in , p.222. and Arae presumably developed Misuzu's Altax binocular line. Altax binoculars by Misuzu Kōgaku are mentioned in an advertisement in June 1958 reproduced in , p.222. In September 1957, Misuzu Kōgaku released the Alta, a Leica copy. This camera was produced by the former manager of the Reise factory, maker of the Chiyotax, who entered Misuzu with a team of workers, certainly after he lost financial backing from the distributor Chiyoda Shōkai. The Alta camera was an evolution of the Chiyotax IIIF, and was already viewed as backward when it was released. See Alta. It was not a commercial success, and was abandoned in mid-1958. After that date, the company prospered for some time by producing bright screens for 35mm SLR cameras, evolved from the original Altair screens for TLR cameras. Its final fate is unknown. At least one source suggests a connection between Misuzu Kōgaku Kōgyō and Misuzu Shōkai. HPR, pp.126 and 175–6, says that Reise was hired by the trading company Misuzu Shōkai and turned its name to Misuzu Kōgaku Kōgyō for that reason. This is wrong, and the Japanese characters used in the two names are completely different (Misuzu is 美篶 for the trading company and 三鈴 for the camera maker). Product list * Alta or Alta 35 * Bower microscope camera * Misuzu 39mm screw lenses * Altair bright screen for TLR cameras * Altax binoculars Advertisement in June 1958 reproduced in , p.222. Notes Bibliography * * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Aruta 35" (アルタ35, Alta 35). In no.38 (August 1980). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. * * Mabuchi, Sam. "In search of the missing Altair camera". In [http://www.phsc.ca/phsc_e-mail/Vol-6/PHSC-E-Mail-V6-10.pdf The PHSC E-mail, vol.6–10], supplement to Photographic Canadiana, Feb. 2007, pp.4–5. Also published in Camera Shopper no.173, Mar. 2007, pp.11–2. (This article contains a partial reproduction of an article by Hagiya Takeshi 萩谷剛 in an unspecified issue of .) Category: Japanese camera makers Category: Japanese lens makers